Was Tartan ever actually banned?

[Kilted-Marine]

Ah, now I understand. We are discussing not just a kirkin of a tartan but a full blown orchestrated ceremony with three part harmony, a bagpiper, two choir boys, lit candles, and a formal march down the center of the Kirk, with flags held high and lots of tartan sashes openly displayed on wonderful preserved wooden staff.
Ya I doubt that happened in Scotland prior to 1940

I wish somebody had told me sooner

[macwilkin]

Ah, now I understand. We are discussing not just a kirkin of a tartan but a full blown orchestrated ceremony with three part harmony, a bagpiper, two choir boys, lit candles, and a formal march down the center of the Kirk, with flags held high and lots of tartan sashes openly displayed on wonderful preserved wooden staff.
Ya I doubt that happened in Scotland prior to 1940

I wish somebody had told me sooner

A Kirkin' of the Tartan is what the ceremony is normally called, Mark. As I mentioned earlier, "kirk" simply means "church", as in The Kirk, or the Church of Scotland. It's only through the ceremony that it has come to mean "the blessing" of the tartans, and thereby the clans/families they symbolize.

Again, I think your hypothetical example of an individual tartan being blessed might be possible, but not before the idea of a clan tartan became popular, and that certainly wasn't at the time the legend establishes it -- if we believe respected tartan scholars such as Newsome, Scarlett, MacDonald, Wilton, etc., then we can say that the concept of a tartan symbolizing an individual clan was not the established custom of the day during the Jacobite era, then that blows a major hole in the legend as promoted by many in the Diaspora community today.

One source that tends to support this is the observation of the Hon. Stuart Erskine in 1901 in his book The Kilt and How to Wear it. Erskine specifically notes that older Highland gentlemen "knew nothing" of clan tartans. Matt Newsome has an excellent article on Erskine here:

http://albanach.org/kiltandhowtowearit.htm

I'm hoping Matt will weigh in on this discussion soon.

Regards,

T.

[Kilted-Marine]

Beating a Dead Horse

[macwilkin]

Beating a Dead Horse

I'm sorry you feel that way, Mark. Again, no offense was ever intended.

T.

[Kilted-Marine]